Only OK

I just happened to discover this short TED talk on a revolutionary idea (for the U.S. at least): the concept of a “Take Turns” traffic intersection. The benefits include reducing inefficiency, pollution, wasted time, and wear on vehicles.

When I saw this, I realized this stuff is already happening to a degree in Hanoi.

Traffic flows in Hanoi, even if it takes courage to figure out how.

I’ve blogged previously on the logic of Hanoi’s crazy traffic here and about bicycling in Hanoi’s traffic here. As much as it seems like total chaos to a Western observer at first glance, traffic here has its rules and assumptions. Pretty much the one rule is: “don’t hit anyone” and this means wherever you are, be prepared to slow down, stop, or let someone else take a turn at an intersection. There are a lot of uncontrolled intersections in Hanoi, and it generally works.  (And certainly, in heavy traffic areas of Hanoi, there are also traditional stoplights–although you don’t sit there waiting to turn left, for instance, you simply flow into the oncoming traffic).

Granted, there are safety concerns in the way Hanoi traffic moves (eventually there are bound to be mistakes). And these rules are best suited to traffic involving relatively slow-moving, small vehicles (cars in Hanoi tend to gum up the works of the motorcycle-oriented system). But there are perhaps lessons other countries can learn about traffic efficiency from Hanoi. Seriously. Unnecessary stopping reduces the flow, and as Gary Lauder demonstrates in this talk, can have unnoticed costs. The trick is balancing safety with traffic efficiency.